1996–97 Connacht Rugby season

May 2026 1996–97 Connacht Rugby season The Sportsground, Galway Warren Gatland Kevin Devlin Eric Elwood (128) Brian Carey (4) Challenge Cup (4th in pool)IRFU Interprovincial Championship (4th of 4) 1995–96 1997–98 The 1996-97 season was Connacht's second season under professionalism. Warren Gatland was in his first season as head coach, appointed in August 1996 following the resignation of Eddie O'Sullivan.Kieran Rooney, "Gatland gets Connacht post", Irish Independent, 31 August 1996 They competed in the inaugural European Challenge Cup (then known as the European Conference) and the IRFU Interprovincial Championship, embarked on a two-match tour of Sweden, and hosted Australia. At this stage the Irish provinces were still representative teams, not professional clubs. However, the provinces were now offering contracts and match fees for Heineken Cup and Interprovincial matches, although these contracts sometimes conflicted with players contracted to clubs in England."Reid's cautionary note on contracts", Belfast Telegraph, 23 March 1996 Players selected Connacht Rugby squadProps IRE rugby union Tom Clancy (St Mary's) IRE rugby union D. Coon (Wanderers) IRE rugby union D. Ennis (Skerries) IRE rugby union Michael Finlay (Wanderers) IRE rugby union Gareth Halpin (St Mary's) IRE rugby union John Maher (Buccaneers) IRE rugby union R. Ward (Old Belvedere) Hookers IRE rugby union Barry Browne (St Mary's) IRE rugby union Billy Mulcahy (Skerries) Locks IRE rugby union Graham Heaslip (Galwegians) IRE rugby union Shane Leahy (Lansdowne) IRE rugby union Mick O'Neill (Blackrock)Back row IRE rugby union Ronnie Culliton (Wanderers) IRE rugby union Kevin Devlin (St. Marys) (c) IRE rugby union Barry Gavin (Galwegians) IRE rugby union Mark Reilly (Oxford University) IRE rugby union Rory Rogers (Blackrock) IRE rugby union Neil Taylor (Galwegians) Scrum-halves IRE rugby union Conor McGuinness (St Mary's) IRE rugby union Diarmuid Reddan (Galwegians) Fly-halves IRE rugby union Eric Elwood (Lansdowne)Centres IRE rugby union Nicky Barry (Clontarf) IRE rugby union Mervyn Murphy (Galwegians) IRE rugby union Alan Reddan (Lansdowne) Wings IRE rugby union David Beggy (Blackrock) IRE rugby union Nigel Carolan (Corinthians) IRE rugby union Michael Devine (Buccaneers) IRE rugby union Dermot Finnegan (Wanderers) IRE rugby union Mick Kearin (Lansdowne) Fullbacks IRE rugby union Brian Carey (Blackrock) IRE rugby union Owen Cobbe (Wanderers) (c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players. * denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality. Squad Tour 3 September 1996 Sweden SWE 7-47 Report"Elwood puts the Swedes on rack", Irish Independent, 4 September 1996 Connacht Connacht Alexsson Njuru CobbeElwoodMulcahyDevineHeaslipFinnegan Elwood (2) Elwood (3) Stockholm W Connacht lineup: 1. Tom Clancy, 2. Billy Mulcahy, 3. R. Ward, 4. Mick O'Neill, 5. Graham Heaslip, 6. Rory Rogers, 7. Mark Reilly, 8. Kevin Devlin (c), 9. Diarmuid Reddan, 10. Eric Elwood, 11. Dermot Finnegan, 12. Nicky Barry, 13. Alan Reddan, 14. Michael Devine, 15. Owen Cobbe. Replacements: B. Gavin (for Reilly 36'), Nigel Carolan (for Barry 68'), D. Ennis (for Clancy 72'). 6 September 1996 Stockholm Exiles SWE 12-65 Report"Connacht in ten-try spree", Irish Independent, 7 September 1996 Connacht Connacht Carey (2)Kearin (2)A. ReddanGavinBeggyTaylorFinneganHeaslip Cobbe (6) Cobbe Stockholm W Connacht lineup: 1. John Maher, 2. Barry Browne, 3. D. Coon, 4. Mick O'Neill, 5. Shane Leahy, 6. Neil Taylor, 7. Barry Gavin, 8. Kevin Devlin (c), 9. Coor McGuinness, 10. Owen Cobbe, 11. David Beggy, 12. Alan Reddan, 13. Nigel Carolan, 14. Mick Kearin, 15. Brian Carey. Replacements: Gareth Heaslip (for O'Neill), D. Ennis (for Maher), Dermot Finnegan (for Beggy). IRFU Interprovincial Championship IRFU Interprovincial Championship Team P W D LFA BPPts Statusleft Munster Munster 3 3 0 0 117 92 - 6 Champions; qualified for 1997–98 Heineken Cupleft Leinster Leinster 3 1 0 2 88 92 - 2 Qualified for 1997–98 Heineken Cupleft Ulster Ulster 3 1 0 2 81 89 - 2 Qualified for 1997–98 Heineken Cupleft Connacht Connacht 3 1 0 2 77 90 - 2 Qualified for 1997–98 European Challenge Cup 21 September 1996 Munster Munster 45–28 Reporthttps://munsterrugby.ie/match-stats/?FixGuid=96MC3767 Munster 45-28 Connacht Munster Rugby 7 June 2019Kieran Rooney, "O'Halloran in superb form for Munster", Sunday Independent, 22 September 1996 Connacht Connacht Lacey (2)FoleyMcCahillWalsh O'Halloran (4) O'Halloran (3) O'Halloran A. ReddanDevine (2) Elwood (2) Elwood (3) Temple Hill A. Watson L Connacht: 1. John Maher (Old Belvedere), 2. Billy Mulcahy (Skerries), 3. R. Ward (Old Belvedere), 4. Graham Heaslip (Galwegians), 5. Mick O'Neill (Blackrock), 6. Rory Rogers (Blackrock), 7. Barry Gavin (Galwegians), 8. Kevin Devlin (St. Mary's, c), 9. Conor McGuinness (St. Mary's), 10. Eric Elwood (Lansdowne), 11. Dermot Finnegan (Wanderers), 12. Nicky Barry (Clontarf), 13. Alan Reddan (Lansdowne), 14. Michael Devine (Buccaneers), 15. Brian Carey (Blackrock). Replacements: Nigel Carolan (Corinthians, for Barry), Diarmuid Reddan (Galwegians, for Carey). 28 September 1996 Ulster Ulster 32-27 ReportSean Diffley, "Connacht falter with the winning post in sight", Sunday Independent, 29 September 1996 Connacht Connacht DuncanLaingTopping Laing Laing (5) CareyElwood Elwood Elwood (5) Elwood Ravenhill B. Smith L Connacht lineup: 1. John Maher, 2. Billy Mulcahy, 3. R. Ward, 4. Graham Heaslip, 5. Shane Leahy, 6. Rory Rogers, 7. Barry Gavin, 8. Kevin Devlin (c), 9. Conor McGuinness, 10. Eric Elwood, 11. Dermot Finnegan, 12. Nigel Carolan, 13. Alan Reddan, 14. Michael Devine, 15. Brian Carey. 5 October 1996 Connacht Connacht 22-13 Report"Eric makes it 'ell for Leinster", Sunday Life, 6 October 1996 Leinster Leinster LeahyElwood Elwood (3) Francis Governey Governey (2) Galway Sportsgrounds W Connacht lineup: 1. John Maher, 2. Billy Mulcahy, 3. R. Ward, 4. Graham Heaslip, 5. Shane Leahy, 6. Rory Rogers, 7. Barry Gavin, 8. Kevin Devlin (c), 9. Conor McGuinness, 10. Eric Elwood, 11. Mick Kearin, 12. Nigel Carolan, 13. Alan Reddan, 14. Michael Devine, 15. Brian Carey. European Challenge Cup 1996–97 European Challenge Cup Pool 3 TeamPWDLTries forTries againstTry diffPoints forPoints againstPoints diffPts ENG Northampton Saints55002812+1620788+11910 FRA Toulon54012210+12164102+628 ENG Orrell52031822−4122173−514 Ireland rugby union Connacht5203917−894131−374 WAL Dunvant51041522−7106169−632 ITA Petrarca51041019−9118148−302 Source : www.ercrugby.com https://archive.today/20130820235208/http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/amlinchallengecup/pools/index.php?includeref=478&season=1996-1997 2013-08-20 Points breakdown:*2 points for a win*1 point for a draw 12 October 1996 Connacht Ireland rugby union 34–12 "Connacht start Euro campaign with win", Sunday World, 13 October 1996Ian O'Doherty, "Connacht victory flatters to deceive", Sunday Tribune, 13 October 1996 ITA Petrarca LeahyMulcahyBarry Elwood (2) Elwood (5) De Marco (4) The Sportsground W Connacht lineup: 1. John Maher, 2. Billy Mulcahy, 3. Michael Finlay, 4. Graham Heaslip, 5. Shane Leahy, 6. Rory Rogers, 7. Kevin Devlin (c), 8. Barry Gavin, 9. Conor McGuinness, 10 Eric Elwood, 11. Mick Kearin, 12. Nicky Barry, 13. Alan Reddan, 14. Michael Devine, 15. Brian Carey. Replacement: Diarmuid Reddan. 16 October 1996 Dunvant WAL 26–9 Ireland rugby union Connacht Report"Late tries finish off Connacht", Irish Independent, 17 October 1996 SpenderEvans Thomas (2) Thomas (4) Spender Elwood (3) Shane Leahy Broadacre, Dunvant Connacht lineup: 1. John Maher, 2. Billy Mulcahy, 3. Michael Finlay, 4. Graham Heaslip, 5. Shane Leahy, 6. Rory Rogers, 7. Barry Gavin, 8. Kevin Devlin (c), 9. Diarmuid Reddan, 10. Eric Elwood, 11. Mick Kearin, 12. Nicky Barry, 13. Alan Reddan, 14. Michael Devine, 15. Brian Carey. Replacements: Mick O'Neill (for Leahy 43') L 19 October 1996 Connacht Ireland rugby union 11–31 ENG Northampton Saints ReportGerry Doherty, "Connacht held as Northampton finally get combination right", Sunday Tribune, 20 October 1996 Carey ElwoodCarey Beal (2)GraysonDawsonTownsend Grayson (3) The Sportsground L Connacht lineup: 1. Tom Clancy, 2. Barry Browne, 3. Michael Finlay, 4. Graham Heaslip, 5. Shane Leahy, 6. Mark Reilly, 7. Rory Rogers (c), 8. Barry Gavin, 9. Conor McGuinness, 10. Eric Elwood, 11. Mick Kearin, 12. Alan Reddan, 13. Nicky Barry, 14. Michael Devine, 15. Brian Carey. Replacement: Kevin Devlin (for Rogers 23'), Ronnie Culliton (for Gavin 3') 27 October 1996 Toulon FRA 44–10 Ireland rugby union Connacht Report Teisseire (2)Durand (4)Mignoni Teisseire (3) Teisseire A. Reddan Cobbe Cobbe Stade Mayol L Connacht lineup: 1. Tom Clancy, 2. Billy Mulcahy, Michael Finlay, 4. Graham Heaslip, 5. Shane Leahy, 6. Neil Taylor, 7. Kevin Devlin (c), 8. Mark Reilly, 9. Conor McGuinness, 10. Owen Cobbe, 11. Mick Kearin, 12. Nicky Barry, 13. Alan Reddan, 14. Michael Devine, 15. Brian Carey. Replacements: Gareth Halpin, Nigel Carolan, Barry Browne, Mick O'Neill 2 November 1996 Connacht Ireland rugby union 30–18 ENG Orrell "Elwood leads the way as Connacht hit top form", Sunday Independent. 3 November 1996 KearinHeaslipPenalty try Elwood (3) Elwood (3) Smith (2)Turner Hitchmough The Sportsground W Connacht lineup: 1. John Maher, 2. Barry Browne, 3. Michael Finlay, 4. Graham Heaslip, 5. Ronnie Culliton, 6. Shane Leahy, 7. Rory Rogers, 8. Barry Gavin, 9. Conor McGuinness, 10. Eric Elwood, 11. Nigel Carolan, 12. Nicky Barry, 13. Alan Reddan, 14. Mick Kearin, 15. Owen Cobbe. Representative 13 November 1996 Connacht Connacht 20-37 ReportKieran Rooney, "Australia rule the west", Irish Independent, 14 November 1996 AUS Australia Leahy Elwood (5) GavinGregan (2)FineganMurdoch Wallace (3) Wallace (2) Galway Sportsgrounds L Connacht lineup: 1. John Maher, 2. Billy Mulcahy, 3. Michael Finlay, 2. Graham Heaslip, 5. Shane Leahy, 6. Neil Taylor, 7. Barry Gavin, Rory Rogers (c) 9. Conor McGuinness, 10. Eric Elwood, 11. Nigel Carolan, 12. Nicky Barry, 13. Alan Reddan, 14. Mick Kearin, 15. Brian Carey. Replacements: Mark Reilly (for Taylor 53'), R. Ward (for Maher 62'), Mervyn Murphy (for Barry 76') References 1996-97 Category:1996–97 in Irish rugby union Category:1996–97 European Challenge Cup